Toe cover



Aug. 8, 1967 U. E. ABEL 3,334,333

TOE COVER Filed Sept. 24, 1965 INVENTOR. Z'JQSULA E. ABEL ATTORNEYSUnited States Patent 3,334,356 TOE COVER Ursula E. Abel, 902 W. RomaAve., Phoenix, Ariz. 85013 Filed Sept. 24, 1965, Ser. No. 489,991 1Claim. (Cl. 2-239) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE This invention comprises ashort, elasticized body of flimsy material to be stretched over theforward portion of the foot and terminate at the arch, beingcharacterized by a relatively thick partial liner element for the soleportion of the body which, by its forward edge abutting the rear surfaceof the ball of the foot, resists forward slippage relative tothe foot.

This invention concerns an article of footwear of the type known as footcovers and relates more particularly to an item of this type whichcovers only the toe portion of the foot and is thus commonly called atoe cover.

Girls wear such articles for various purposes and more particularly withsome types of shoes, such as openheeled and open-toed shoes. However,conventional toe covers are objectionable in that they have no means,other than their elasticity, to prevent them from slipping forwardlyover the toe portion of the foot and lumping up in the toe portion ofthe shoe, which often happens because toe covers are usually made of avery flimsy type material. It is an object of my present invention toprovide a toe cover which overcomes this tendency to slip or workforwardly on the toe portion of the foot.

More particularly it is an object of my invention to provide a toe coverwhich incorporates a relatively stiff and relatively thick insert orpartial liner for the portion of the cover positioned immediately behindthe ball of the foot, so that the front edge of the insert engagesbehind the ball of the foot which provides an abutment to oppose forwardslipping motion of the toe cover on the foot.

Otherobjects and advantages will appear from the following" descriptionof a presently preferred embodiment of my invention, for which purpose Ishall refer to the accompanying drawing wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation showing my improved toe cover mounted on ahuman foot;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged bottom plan view of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged side elevation, shown partly in section, of my toecover being worn on the foot;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view; and

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the fabric blank of which the body of my toecover is made.

Referring now to the drawing, the letter F denotes a foot and thenumeral 5 generally denotes my improved toe cover.

Generally my toe cover 5 is in the form of a socklet or body of flimsymaterial, preferably knitted material having some elasticity, and havinga toe passing opening 6 to which a continuous elastic band 7 is securedas by stitching. The toe cover typically, although not necessarily, maybe made of the elliptical blank shown in FIG. 5 and has its opposededges secured together by a bottom or sole seam 8.

The toe cover is of a length such that its bottom wall terminatesadjacent and rearwardly of the ball of the foot by a distance of theorder of about one inch, the ball of the foot being denoted by thenumeral 10 (FIG. 1). A conventional toe cover is supposed to remain onthe toe portion of the foot in conforming relationship thereto by virtueof its elasticity. However, in use, it frequently works or slipsforwardly over the toe portion.

The primary purpose of my invention, therefore, is to prevent suchaccidental slippage of the toe cover, by means of an insert 15 having arelatively straight rear edge 16 stitched to the contiguous rear edgeportion of the body and having a convexly curved forward edge 18. Thebody of the insert 15 engages against the somewhat concaved bottomsurface portion 14 of the foot immediately behind the ball of the footwhile its forward edge 18 engages against the ball of the foot whichprovides an abutment resisting forward movement of the toe cover on thefoot.

While the insert 15 may be made of any suitable resilient material, Iprefer it to be relatively thick and prefer to form its inner layer 20of soft or foam rubber, and to form its outer layer of a separate,relatively stiffer fabric sheet 21 bonded to the inner layer 20. I alsopreferably provide a plurality of perforations 23 extending through thelayers 20, 21 for ventilation purposes. In some instances it may bepreferable to form the inner layer 20 of the insert of a perspirationabsorbent material.

Thus it will be seen that the insert 15, by having its edge portion 18abut against the ball of the foot, and by having its opposite edgestitched to the body of the toe cover, will effectively resistaccidental escape of my toe cover in the manner hereinabove discussed.

To make my toe cover from the blank 30' shown in FIG. 5, the side edges31 of the blank are folded into engagement with each other and stitchedtogether by the seam 8. Thus the edge portions 33, which are not securedtogether, define the toe passing opening 6.

I claim:

A toe cover comprising a sock-like body of flimsy, elasticized material;said body having upper and sole portions, being adapted to be stretchedover the toe portion of a foot, and having a maximum length terminatingat the arch of the foot; and means for resisting slippage of the coverforwardly on the foot, comprising a relatively thick partial linerelement for said sole portion, said element having a convexly curvedforward edge disposed to engage the rear surface of the ball of the footand to extend rearwardly therefrom under the bottom arch of the foot,and means securing the rear edge of said liner element to the rear edgeof the sole portion of said cover.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,659,171 2/1928 Spafford.2,771,691 11/1956 Luchs 36-10 2,792,001 5/1957 Ryan 128-153 2,866,979 1/1959 Russell 26 1 JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

J. R. BOLER, Assistant Examiner.

